Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is part of the National Trails System of the United States of America. He recalls the expedition in 1804, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set off to reach the Pacific coast of the Americas. The equipment of the 45 -strong expedition included a keelboat and two pirogues. They started from Camp Dubois, located near Hartford, Illinois today.

President Thomas Jefferson was always impressed by the West of the USA during his tenure and was particularly interested in the fauna, flora and natural resources, which had ready this then unexplored part of the continent. He was also interested in a trade route to the Far East. For this reason, in 1803, he asked the U.S. Congress to personally funding for the expedition. Lewis and Clark were instructed to record all incidents and encounters in a travel report - these included geographical maps, animal sketches and notes to foreign nations. Overall, you toured an area that today 11 States of the USA belongs (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington).

The historic trail follows the route of Lewis and Clark and is based from its starting point in Hartford, mostly on the rivers Missouri and Columbia. With its 3.700 miles ( 5.950 km ) is the Lewis and Clark Historic Trail is the second longest of the 23 Historic Trails of the United States. In Great Falls, Montana, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center is a visitor center for trail, with exhibitions on the expedition, and attractions on the trail. The center is operated by the Ministry of Agriculture of the United States ( USDA).